Escaping to the Seaside | Newquay

It’s been a few months now (just over 2, to be exact) since Josh went self-employed and we set up our own business. Nobody quite prepares you for how stressful it will be. Or maybe we were just being naive. It probably wasn’t the best idea to also move house during this time. Probably shouldn’t have started learning how to drive either.

Anyway, what I’m trying to get across is that we’ve been stressed. We’ve been tearing our hair out, tearing each others hair out and we very much needed a holiday. We kept promising ourselves we’d go to Cornwall once I can drive and spend a week camping, but this was feeling like a very long way away. City life can be a bit much at times and we needed a break.

Our prayers were answered when we were asked if we fancied a couple of days in Cornwall, courtesy of the Travelodge, during July. We jumped at the chance. Finally, a chance to breathe and take a step back.

We picked a couple of days during the week just before School Holidays started and booked our flights down to Newquay. It couldn’t have come at a better time! So, here’s everything we got up to during our holiday by the sea.

Where we stayed

When we got to the Travelodge we had 30 minutes before we could check into our hotel, so we went for a wander around the area and down to the seafront. We were looking up at the hotel rooms, wishing for one of the rooms overlooking the beach. Guess what? We got one!

The view from our hotel room was absolutely gorgeous. The room itself was a great size, actually bigger than the hotel room we had in Paris and we both preferred it. There were two large windows overlooking the beach which made the room feel even bigger.

The bed was incredibly comfortable and the pillows were pretty big – with two pillows each, when does that ever happen?! Maybe all the time and I just stay in crappy hotels…

Finding the best Cornish Pasty

After settling into our hotel room, we got changed and went on a hunt for the best Cornish pasty in Newquay. A lot of places claim they have the best and we aimed to try all of them to decide.

Our hotel was located about 10 minutes walk from the centre, so we made our way down with a list of places to try. First on our list was Jamie’s Pasty Shop. We chose a traditional Cornish pasty to share for £3 and wandered down to the seafront to eat it.

This was a bad move.

In the two minutes it takes to get from Jamie’s Pasty Shop to the beach. A seagull pooed on me.

Operation find the best pasty was over. However, we did still carry on to the beach to eat it! This is when Josh thought it a great idea to feed his pasty crumbs to some seagulls. What a rookie! Living in Brighton I know never to feed the gulls, you’re just asking for trouble.

Sure enough, what felt like hundreds of seagulls (but was in fact three) started to swarm me for the last bite of my pasty. I, of course, screamed like a proper loony and threw the last bite to them. So, it was back to the hotel to change.

Afternoon Tea

After a quick change, we headed back down to Newquay centre for a spot of afternoon tea. Josh had been scouring Google for a place with good reviews and we settled on Cloud Cafe. The little cafe was adorable, we sat outside and enjoyed some scones with jam and clotted cream. A must when in Cornwall!

We headed back to our hotel, knackered after a morning of travelling and an afternoon of eating/exploring. We settled down on the bed to watch some TV before deciding where to head out for dinner.

In the end, being the classy pair we are, we opted for a Burger King in bed – complete with homemade Sangria from the Aldi next door. Holidays are for relaxing and doing whatever you feel like, and this is what we wanted.

Our Travelodge had a great selection of channels to choose from and we discovered The Food Network, which we binge watched all evening.

Breakfast at the Travelodge

We started our second (and last) day in Newquay with a breakfast buffet. Is there any better way to start a day?

Travelodge offer two types of breakfast with your hotel stay at an additional cost. You can either have a continental buffet for £5.95 or a full English buffer for £8.95. We had the latter.

You can choose from Cumberland sausages, Linda McCartney veggie sausages, scrambled egg, bacon, toast, tomatoes, mushrooms, hash browns and beans. We went for most of that! The quality of the food was really good, the only downside was that it was a tad on the cold side.

Fish & Chips

After wandering around Newquay centre, buying a few souvenirs for the family, we decided we were in the mood for some fish and chips. Josh, once again, found a highly rated chippy on Tripadvisor and luckily for us – it was right by our hotel!

Knowing we would be in for a food-filled day, we just got one meal to share. Luckily for us, the portions were not small. We went for scampi and chips with some mushy peas and curry sauce. It was the perfect fuel for our afternoon plans of exploring the towns beaches.

Exploring Newquay

We spent the rest of the day exploring Newquay and what it had to offer. We headed towards Fistral beach, which is where Josh used to go with his Dad when they would holiday in Newquay.

Along the way, we got sidetracked and made our way up to Towan Headland, which overlooked Fistral beach. The views of the beach and sea were stunning. We then went for a little explore in the caves on Little Fistral beach.

After a few hours of walking along the beaches, we went in search of ice cream.

Ma’mita Ice Cream

Wow I really wish I’d had my nails done before this holiday..

Right by the harbour is the touristy Ma’Mita ice cream parlour, except they serve everything from ice cream to afternoon tea and more. We sat ourselves down and enjoyed the little bit of sun that was coming through.

Josh went for a two scoop waffle cone of Cornish Fudge ice cream and I had a two scoop tub with mint choc chip and Cornish fudge. We both ended up with food envy! Josh preferred my mint choc chip and I wished I’d gotten two scoops of the fudge. We’ll know for next time. I’ve got my eye on the Clotted Cream flavour they have too.

Newquay Beaches

Newquay is famous for two things. It’s beaches and it’s surfing scene. As we didn’t go surfing this time, we explored the beaches. Before heading to dinner at The Fort Inn we spent an hour or so walking along the beaches from our hotel to the pub.

Living in Brighton we’re used to a pebbly beach, so getting to walk along a sandy beach with the tide slowly rolling in was blissful.

Dinner at The Fort Inn

After searching for quite a while for a pub with some good food on offer, we settled on The Fort Inn. Located by the harbour, our table overlooked the gorgeous beach and sea. The pub looks small and quaint from the outside, but in fact seats over 600 people! They don’t take bookings in the summer but you’ll have no trouble finding a table.

We’ll be doing a separate review of our dinner, so keep your eyes peeled for that one!

After a lovely meal, we headed to a little arcade to waste a few pennies in the 2p machines and on a few racing games. We then headed back to our hotel, ready for a 5am start for our flight back!

Newquay was absolutely gorgeous and it’s just what we needed to unwind and relax from our hectic city lives. We’ve already made plans to go back again before the summer ends.